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Debt limit mood darkens as GOP muddles own message

Mitch McConnell set the day's tone early with a blast aimed at the president. |
Jay Westcott/POLITICO
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From the White House’s perspective then, just getting down to $1.048 billion represents a lot of pain and a $92 billion cut from the president’s 2012 budget requests. But McConnell knows that his Republican conservatives will see only the $2 billion differential and revolt.

The Treasury has set Aug. 2 as the deadline for action on the debt ceiling. In an interview with CBS News the president was asked whether he can guarantee that Social Security and veterans’ checks would go out the next day in any case.

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“I cannot guarantee that those checks go out on Aug. 3 if we haven’t resolved this issue,” Obama said, “Because there may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it.”

“This is not a Republican or a Democratic problem,” the president said at another point in the interview. “This is a national problem that has to be resolved.”

At the mention of McConnell’s remarks, Obama shot back, “Mr. McConnell said, I think the day I was elected, that his job was to try to see me beat. I think what the American people are looking for is not that kind of partisan politics. What the American people are looking for is somebody to solve problems.”

In the case of Boehner, there is clearly more personal regard built up over their talks on the debt.

“I do trust that when John tells me something he means it,” Obama said. “I think that his challenge right now is inside his caucus. But I think — Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neill are a great example. Ronald Reagan repeatedly took steps that included revenue, in order for him to accomplish some of these larger goals. And the question is, if Ronald Reagan could compromise, why wouldn’t folks who idolize Ronald Reagan be willing to engage in those same kinds of compromises?”

Tuesday’s White House talks ended with a decision by Obama and the administration to temporarily put aside discussion of revenues in hopes of making progress elsewhere. But the Reagan example is a powerful one for him, given the five times the Republican icon agreed to deficit-reduction packages that mixed revenues with savings — just as Obama wants to do now.

How much the GOP has changed since then is well captured by Cantor. Meeting with reporters this week, the Virginia Republican went so far as to say that the GOP’s anti-tax pledge is no more rigid than Obama’s insistence that the debt talks not jeopardize the health care reforms enacted in the preceding Congress.

Yet total health care expenditures account for about 18 percent of GDP while taxes reach so many other corners of the economy, as witnessed by the diversity of revenue provisions Reagan signed into law.

It's really quite simple. Boehner needs to pass whatever the Republicans in the House want to pass. Then call a summer recess. Let Harry the Horrible and Dickster figure out the rest. The Pox will be on their houses.

Meanwhile McConnell needs to sit down and shut the F** up. Watching McConnell and Reid is just too Nursing Home ****ing match for me.

“Nothing can get through the House right now,” Cantor said after the White House meeting. “Nothing.”

Cantor said it. The Republican Party is in shambles. They sold their sold to the highest bidder to get votes and now they are raping what they have sown.

After watching Republicans hate on all the people who voted for Democrats I realized this: That in order for Republicans to even get elected, they need to exploit the emotions of people using anti-gay rhetoric along with some fear mongering like “death panels” mixed with a little contentious associations such as the anti ACORN and Planned Parenthood right-wing propaganda. Throw all that in with the “Obama is a Kenyan Muslim” stuff and you get a whole lot of ignorant people throwing away their votes on the worst possible candidate.

Michel Bachman for example actively fights the teaching of evolution in science classes. After all that science has created for humanity, Republicans will still deny any science that contradicts their, cursory but required to be elected, political beliefs. Take away these tools of fear from the Republican Party and you are left with nothing. Crickets.

The Republican leadership is a joke!!

First the Treasury asks Congress to raise the debt limit. Then the Republican House says they won't without cuts to government spending. So the Democrats begin negotiations including cuts to their sacredly held social programs and ask for some quid pro quo. Republicans balk and cry and try to change the rules.

Republicans are a bunch of righteous rich people spewing lies about how tax cuts create jobs (which they don't) and that now after years of spending they care about the debt?

I'm tired of Republicans. It was all a nice puppet show. Foolish Republican voters actually think that Republicans are going to repeal the Heath Care Reforms and ban earmarks and bring "freedom" back.

Republicans don’t actually stand for anything, and funny thing is, no one asks them to.

Nice try to give Obama a pass for his lie about SS checks. It is all political show for him. When you have a pseudo-news conference each day and preen around for Politico writers, it is obvious you are playing just to the DC types. The rest of US in the hinterlands know what a disaster his presidency is. How can we minimize the damage he does to this country over his last 17 months.

Impeach the Dictator in Chief Obama now!!! His executive order destroying the 2nd amendment is grounds enough for impeachment. Somebody find the duct tape and put it firmly over McConnell's mouth!!! Stand firm Republicans. If you cave now, all is lost.

Foreign investors will reduce their purchases of US Treasuries on a permanent basis, and in fact will start selling their holdings. Every time interests rates rise by 50 basis points it will cost taxpayers an additional $75 billion dollars each year. Our U.S. sovereign credit rating will be downgraded by Standard and Poor’s. They have already said they will do this if we do not reach compromise. There will be run on money market funds, which are based on the full faith and credit of the U.S. Many money market funds will halt redemptions. This will cause bank runs. Banks will no longer be backed by the FDIC, who will unable to finance squat. There will be waves of margin calls and haircuts on collateral. Lending will stop. The economy will tank even further. Much further. Unemployment will start to skyrocket again, and we’ll wish for the days of a 700,000 a month loss. The responsibility for this will fall squarely on the shoulders of conservative Republicans who have already voted against raising the debt ceiling, and remain opposed to raising the debt ceiling.

The debt ceiling will be raised...stop being a goof. When all is said and done, it will be raised and both sides will claim victory...it's so stupid.

Nice try to give Obama a pass for his lie about SS checks. It is all political show for him. When you have a pseudo-news conference each day and preen around for Politico writers, it is obvious you are playing just to the DC types. The rest of US in the hinterlands know what a disaster his presidency is. How can we minimize the damage he does to this country over his last 17 months.

While I agree with your opinion, the Reps are doing the exact same thing.